LoloWiki

Born: August 05, 1982 in Des Moines, IA
Hometown: Des Moines, IA
Residence: Baton Rouge, LA
Ht: / Wt: 5'9" / 150 lbs
Olympics: None
Event(s): 100m hurdles

Bad break in Beijing
Making her Olympic debut, Lolo Jones cruised through the early rounds of the women's 100m hurdles and entered the final as the likely gold medalist. She had the field beaten after eight hurdles but caught her front foot on the penultimate barrier, lost momentum and finished seventh. Of the heartbreak, she said in good spirits, "I usually hit a hurdle maybe twice a year. It just sucks that it happened in the most important race of my life."

Beijing bound
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Jones was astounding in the 100m hurdles final, executing flawlessly and winning in a wind-aided 12.29 seconds (the wind reading was +3.8 meters per second), tying the No. 2 time ever run under any conditions. In the semifinals, Jones posted a 2008 world-leading mark by winning the second heat in a wind-legal 12.45. Jones is a two-time U.S. Indoor and three-time NCAA champion.

Impressive indoors
Jones capped a stellar indoor season by winning her first world championship in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.80 seconds. Jones also won her second straight U.S. indoor championship, with a strong finish over the final two hurdles earned her a winning time of 7.88, the Visa Series Championship and the accompanying $25,000 prize. Upon securing the Visa win, Jones broke out into a dance on the track at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

First impressions
After winning the 2007 U.S. Indoor title in the 60m hurdles, Jones made her first national team by finishing third in the 100m hurdles at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. She went on to qualify for the final and placed sixth at the World Championships in Osaka, running a time of 12.88.

Terrific Tiger
A graduate of LSU, Jones brings impressive foot speed to the 100m hurdles. She finished her career at LSU as a three-time national champion and 11-time All-American, where she ranks among the top-three all-time at LSU in both the 60m and 100m hurdles. Jones also has an NCAA title as part of LSU's 4x100m relay in 2004.

Scholastic success
In high school, Jones was named the Gatorade Midwest Athlete of the Year, and holds the 100m hurdles record for the state of Iowa at 13.40 seconds. Jones is of French, African-American, Native American and Norwegian descent.

What's in her name?
Jones and her mother share the same given name: Lori Susan Jones. The legend of Lolo (according to Lolo) is that the phone-answering confusion of "Can I speak to Lori?" led to the clarification "Big Lori or Little Lori?" and "Little Lori"was eventually shortened to "Lolo." According to Big Lori, however, the family called the child Lolo from birth.

Straight from the source: There will be no horse
In the weeks leading up to the 2008 Olympics, an Associated Press story reported that Jones would run a race against a horse. The story was even supported by quotes from her attorney. But at a press conference in Beijing, Jones called the story a misunderstanding, saying people misinterpreted television advertisements she did with a horse for a casino sponsor. "I said things in the commercial like, 'He's fast, but can he hurdle?'" Jones said. "If you look on YouTube, you can probably find video of me talking all big to a horse." (Note: You cannot.)

Source: NBC